Friday, October 7, 2016

Out of the Kitchen: Brunch at Round Corner Cantina

Round Corner Cantina is a staple in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood. For a fun happy hour, casual cocktail, delicious apps, or hearty dinner, it's a no-brainer. Round Corner isn't really a hidden gem, everyone loves it! However, most people don't really think of it as an awesome brunch spot. In fact, we didn't even know they served brunch until a couple months ago when we went for lunch and were surprised to discover an alternate brunch menu.

I should say we were pleasantly surprised because our meals were so great, we couldn't wait to go again, and we finally did this past Sunday before hitting up Doors Open Pittsburgh. See our RCC recap below!

The Atmosphere:
I've always been a fan of Round Corner's dive-y/casual atmosphere and that makes for a really relaxed, easy brunch feel. There's never any reason to feel uncomfortable or like you're out of place. The inside is usually pretty dark and moody, so we prefer to sit on the back patio when we can. The patio, while usually packed on a Saturday evening, is pretty empty on a Sunday morning. It was calm and quiet, making for a lovely Sunday morning brunch.

The Food:
Nick: Sarah and I have been to Round Corner a billion times, but only twice for brunch. During those two visits, I've had both of the meals featured in this post, and I have to admit - I like the other one better. This time around, I had the tofu scramble. It was extremely flavorful, and packed a lot of heat in certain bites, but it wasn't my favorite thing on the menu. Generally speaking, I like to treat my tofu a bit differently. For me the flavor was there, but not the texture or the balance of ingredients. I want to be clear: this isn't a bad review. This is a great, tasty, and very filling dish (I couldn't even finish it). For my personal taste, though, it was just too heavy on tomato and the tofu was too wet. So what? Who cares? It had guac on it for crying out loud!

Sarah: The last time we visited I tried the breakfast tacos, which were fantastic, but I couldn't help eyeing Nick's chilaquiles from across the table. On this visit, I knew that is definitely what I was getting. This dish was perfect - crunchy but creamy, spicy but cool. I completely cleaned my plate and could have eaten more. The cherry on top of this dish was a dippy egg, which is one of my favorite foods in the world, but they're a rare treat as we generally keep a dairy-free/egg-free house. This dish, packed with eggs and cheese, is definitely unusual for me, but sometimes it's nice to have a treat (an incredibly delicious treat.) Under the egg you'll find corn tortillas, salsa, refried beans, black beans, crema, and queso fresca - needless to say, it checked off all the boxes for me. I can't picture myself trying anything else off the brunch menu again.

Round Corner also has $4 Bloody Marys for brunch (though we aren't fans so we didn't partake.) You can check out their full brunch menu here. And if you decide to visit, make sure you take us with you!

DISCLOSURE

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